Pawn Crossing the River

Qi Xuansu and Zhang Yuelu arrived at Jinguan Mansion on the second day of November. After lingering in the city for a day, they left Jinguan Mansion on the third day of November and headed for Baidi City.

Then they would take a boat from Baidi City and go down the river to Huzhou, also known as ancient Jingzhou, and then from Huzhou to Wuzhou. This was their original route, passing through Yongzhou, Shuzhou, Huzhou, and Wuzhou, and finally arriving at Shangqing County, Shangqing Prefecture, Wuzhou, where the Zhang family has lived for generations and where the Dazhen Mansion of Yunjin Mountain is located. .

The two of them walked out of the city gate of Jinguan Mansion together, wearing mended cloaks, and walked leisurely along the broad official road.

"Qingxiao, have you met His Majesty the Emperor?" Qi Xuansu asked without saying anything. Along the way, the two of them couldn't just rush along without saying a word. Most of the time they chatted in various ways, which not only killed time but also enhanced mutual understanding.

Zhang Yuelu shook his head and said, "I haven't seen it before."

Qi Xuansu said: "I wonder what this Emperor is like?"

Zhang Yuelu thought for a while and replied: "This year is the 41st year of Jiuzhi. His Majesty has been the emperor for 41 years. I remember that he ascended the throne in his 60s. If you think about it, he will soon be in his 60th year." , He is already an old man. However, His Majesty the Emperor should have a good look. He should not look like an old man, but he should also maintain his majesty, and he should not look like a young man, that is, he should look like a middle-aged man. "

Qi Xuansu sighed: "The authority of an emperor for forty-one years must be so important."

Zhang Yuelu said again: "The previous Wei Dynasty respected Confucianism, but this dynasty respects Taoism. From Emperor Gaozu to your Majesty today, they are all disciples of Taoism. Before Emperor Gaozu had not started the rebellion, he and the ancestors of the Li family and our Zhang Yuelu The ancestors of the family are listed as three deputy masters, the great master, and the position of the chief master is vacant. "

"Are they the Great Sword Immortal Li Daoxu and the old Heavenly Master Zhang Jingxiu in the Xuansheng Card?" Qi Xuansu asked.

Zhang Yuelu nodded: "Exactly. At that time, Xuan Sheng was still lower than the three people and only ranked fourth in the Taoist sect. Later, when the Great Sword Immortal and the Old Heavenly Master ascended and passed away, Emperor Gaozu decided to rebel against Wei, and so No longer serving as the deputy head master, Xuansheng became the master of the Taoist sect."

"After taking over the world, the Daxuan court respected the Taoist sect as the state religion and respected the Supreme Taoist ancestor. Starting from Emperor Gaozu, the Taoist sect accepted the title of Taishang Taozu from the Taoist sect. In other words, the emperor has two identities. The first identity is naturally The second identity of the Emperor is the Da Zhenren of the Taoist sect. He is above the Deputy Headmaster Da Zhenren. He is a super-grade Taoist priest and is equal to the Grand Tutor. However, the emperor cannot intervene in Taoist sect affairs, so the only super-grade Taoist priest in the Taoist sect is still a Daozhen. Headmaster."

"When people in our Taoist sect meet His Majesty the Emperor, we usually address him as 'Your Majesty', but if it is a formal occasion, we have to address him by his Taoist sect title. The current title of His Majesty the Emperor is 'General Master of Yin and Yang's merits, Zi Ji Da Zhen', or 'Zi Da Zhenren' for short. The late emperor's title is "Zong Zhang Yuan Ying Kai Hua Yuandu Da Zhen", referred to as "Yuan Du Da Zhen". The emperor Gaozu's title is "Zong Zhang Yuxu Wu Lei Changsheng Da Zhen", referred to as "Changsheng Da Zhen". Generally speaking, it is enough to remember these three. But with our two levels, we will probably never see the human emperor living in the deep palace."

Qi Xuansu nodded to note it down, and couldn't help but said: "I didn't know that His Majesty the Emperor had such a Taoist identity. Is this considered half a Taoist?"

"This honorary title was given by the Taoist ancestor of the Taoist sect. Emperors of all dynasties regarded themselves as the emperor and disciples of the Taoist ancestor. There is no conflict between these two identities." Zhang Yuelu explained, "In fact, the same is true for the Golden Horde Khanate. The Golden Horde Khanate respected shamanism as The state religion, Shamanism, believes in the Immortal Heaven. Its leader, the Witch King, means "the person who is favored by the Immortal Heaven", and the Golden Horde Khan means "the person who relies on the power of the Immortal Heaven to become the king." The two are interdependent, and the former cannot After occupying the throne for a long time, the latter is favored by the Immortal God and can live forever, but cannot get involved in the throne. "

This was the first time for Qi Xuansu to hear these semi-open secrets. He had no choice but to do so. In the past, he was in a low position, and he had been in the world for a long time, far away from Taoism and temples, so he had no chance to come into contact with these secrets.

Zhang Yuelu asked: "Why do you suddenly care about His Majesty the Emperor?"

Of course, Qi Xuansu would not say that he was actually out of words, but just said: "I used to hear people say that the two most powerful people in the world, one is the Grand Master of our Taoist Sect, and the other is His Majesty the Emperor of the imperial court. Now the Grand Master If the position of religion is vacant, then isn’t His Majesty the most powerful person in the world?”

"Absolutely." Zhang Yuelu said, "But it has nothing to do with us. Let the emperor's things belong to the emperor, and what belongs to the Taoist ancestors belong to the Taoist ancestors."

Qi Xuansu had heard this sentence, which was a famous quote from the Western Continent by the Third Generation Archbishop. The background was that Confucianism, one of the three great priests of Confucianism, raised a question to the Third Generation Archbishop, that is, how to deal with the relationship between Taoism and the imperial court. . The third generation of great masters responded with this, which probably means that the water in the well does not offend the river.

…

Bohai Mansion is located at the mouth of Sanhui, known as the gateway to the imperial capital. It is not only a water transportation hub, but also faces the sea to the east. It has many ports, including civilian ports for merchant ships and military ports for warships. If you take the sea route to the Imperial Capital, this is the place you must pass.

A huge vessel docked in the military port today, making other ships look extremely small.

This is a majestic giant ship with a whole body of iron armor. It has no complicated sails, only an observation tower and a huge chimney.

This is the iron-clad ship that travels across the four seas. Like the flying boat of Daomen, it is known as the "Two Dragons".

In addition, the battleship is also equipped with the latest artillery.

Two hundred years ago, warships in the East and West were generally equipped with breech-loading guns. Although they were greatly improved compared to front-loading guns, the breech-loading guns at this time used the back-loading technology, that is, the barrel of the artillery passed through the ears. The shaft is connected to the gun mount. When the artillery is fired, the gun mount bears the recoil force. The gun body, together with the entire recoil seat of the gun mount, will produce a large displacement after firing. It takes a lot of time to reset and aim, so the rate of fire is very slow. It even set the slowest record of firing twice in half an hour.

In order to improve this defect, the Western Continent developed tube withdrawal technology. This technology installs a retraction machine on the artillery, so that the rear seat part of the artillery can automatically return to its original position using its own recoil after firing, saving the time of reset and re-aiming, and the artillery's rate of fire Greatly improved. Later it spread to the Eastern Continent and was widely used by the three major naval forces of the imperial court.

A group of people appeared at the bow of the ship. The leader was wearing a black crane cloak and a lotus crown. He was the owner of the warship, Qingwei Zhenren, who was in charge of Qizhou Daofu.

As for why Qingwei Zhenren, a member of the Taoist sect, could own an armored battleship, it can be traced back to the Wei Dynasty.

During the Wei Dynasty, the sea was closed and closed, the imperial navy was almost abandoned, and the Confucian sect became the largest landowner in the world. Daomen found another way and vigorously developed its fleet to fill the gap. The ocean-going fleet could reach the Western Continent, and finally succeeded in overtaking the self-proclaimed Confucianism due to the prosperity of maritime trade.

The vast sea is like a land without an owner. Naturally, pirates are raging. Daomen's fleet has to be equipped with artillery and trade with swords. It can be said that the ship is strong and the artillery is powerful. Among them, the Li family's fleet was the most powerful. After three naval battles, it established its position as the maritime hegemon.

During the war, the Li family's fleet was divided into two groups, heading north to bombard Bohai Mansion, while heading south from the estuary to the river to block water transportation. Make great achievements.

After the Daxuan court conquered the world, it established three major naval divisions. The predecessors of these naval divisions were the Daomen fleet, and the Li family fleet was the main one. Donghuang, who was less than 30 years old at the time, was the first Donghai Navy Admiral and General Military Affairs Officer. There is naturally an inextricable connection between the two. To this day, the Li family still has a profound influence in the navy. Every admiral and military officer of the Donghai Navy has a background of the Li family.

Master Qingwei is not only the Master of the Taoist sect, but also a member of the Li family. He does not live in Qizhou on weekdays, but lives in Qingling Palace on Abbot Island, next to Penglai Island where Zhenjing Villa is located. He is the second-ranking figure in Taiping Road and the Li family.

This time he went to Beijing on the emperor's order and set off by boat from Fangzhang Island. In a sense, this is also Master Qingwei demonstrating his power.

Zhenzhi Zhenren, who is also in charge of a local government, is also divided into superiors and inferiors. Some Taoist Masters can only balance the forces of all parties in the middle, but some Masters can only say the same thing.

Nowadays, the three deputy head masters and the other great masters of Pingzhang are all over eighty years old and unable to compete for the position of chief master. So most of them have to choose one from the thirty-six masters. Taipingdao Qingwei Zhenren, who is supported by the Li family, is undoubtedly one of the most promising people.

Qingwei Zhenren's true age is difficult for outsiders to know. Judging from his appearance alone, he is very young, about thirty years old, slender and handsome.

The Master Shenzhi, who is expected to become the seventh-generation Grand Master, looked down and saw the crowds of people below who were preparing to greet them like ants.

The Imperial Capital and Zhili are the only special places that have not established a Taoist government, so the people who came to greet him this time were all court officials and disciples of Taiping Temple, including many descendants of the Li family.

Master Qingwei withdrew his gaze and turned to the direction of Dijing.

He is an orthodox member of the Li family, a direct descendant of Dajianxian, Xuansheng and Donghuang. The Li family has produced two great masters, four deputy masters, and twenty-eight real masters. Although it is not among the three major families in the world, it is undoubtedly the number one family in the Taoist sect.

For the Li family, a Master Shenzhi is really nothing. Now they already have a deputy headmaster, the great master. What the Li family needs is a great headmaster to revive the glory of Xuansheng.

So he was going to the Imperial Capital to meet with His Majesty the Emperor. Although the emperor could not interfere in Taoist affairs, as a Taoist master, the attitude of Ziji Zhenren was an invisible force.